Have you ever heard of glue sniffing? Well, it may seem to be relatively a new trend in India but is fast becoming an addiction among urchins in the Delhi.
NEW DELHI: Have you ever heard of glue sniffing? Well, it may seem to be relatively a new trend in India but is fast becoming an addiction among urchins in the national capital.
These homeless kids, who earn their livelihood by cleaning cars on roads or working as child labourers at roadside food joints, railway stations and bus terminals, find solace in inhaling adhesives and consider the addiction as an entertainment.
"Glue sniffing leaves the whole body dry and induces a state of hallucination. After working as a dog for the whole day, it gives you peace," says 15-year-old Raju Singh who works as a cobbler at the New Delhi railway station.
Raju is not alone. Md Kareem, who works as a porter at the Inter-State Bus Terminus, too, is an addict. He not only inhales the fumes from organic solvents found in glue but also sniffs paints.
"It creates butterfly feeling. You feel you are above the world. The hallucinogenic effect lasts for about 30 minutes but it takes hours before you can regain full control over your faculties," he claims.
Kareem admits spending all his day's earnings in buying "good quality" adhesives and says that the addiction forces him to scavenge for food from the rubbish heaps of restaurants or municipal dumps every night.
These urchins may regard glue sniffing as "harmless" but doctors feel otherwise.
"It has many harmful effects ranging from short-term effects such as hallucinations, blackouts, sickness and dizziness to long-term effects of damage to brain, heart, liver, kidneys and death," says city-based Dr Swati Konar.
Agreed Dr SK Dasgupta, "Glue sniffing is dangerous, it's as dangerous as cocaine intake. Toluene, the solvent found in many glues, actions on our brains the same way as notorious cocaine does. It also favours depression."
"It could also cause dangerous side effects on behaviour such as euphoria and slurred speech. If it is daily used over a period of six months, it could cause permanent brain damage," he warns.
Dr Dasgupta, who shuttles between Kolkata and Delhi every week, is also a consultant with an NGO which provides food and shelter to several homeless kids in the eastern metropolis.
According to a recent survey conducted by Bal Sahyog and Indian Alliance of Child Rights, Delhi's five million-odd street children suffer from a slew of sexually-transmitted diseases, drug abuses, social neglect and crime that triggers insecurity among them.
However, the police are at their wits' end. "It's not illegal. Officially, we cannot prosecute anyone sniffing glue. But, if anyone complains, we can shift the homeless kids to a shelter," says a senior officer.
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